New York, USA , 7 September 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Matt Ebden and Indian partner Rohan Bopanna will contest the US Open 2023 men’s doubles final.

The sixth seeds secured their spot in the championship match with a 7-6(3) 6-2 semifinal victory against French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut today at Flushing Meadows.

Five-time major champions Herbert and Mahut made a blistering start, racing to a 4-2 lead and earning a further two break points on Ebden’s serve in the seventh game.

“I think that was a crucial moment there,” Bopanna said. “We held that game and that kept us in the match. I think that was really important.”

It proved a turning point indeed, with world No.11 Ebden and world No.14 Bopanna then winning three consecutive games to wrest back control.

At 5-6 in the first set, Mahut required a medical timeout for heat stress.

The former world No.1 managed to hold after returning, but the momentum belonged to Ebden and Bopanna in the tiebreak.

From there, the sixth seeds romped through the second set to close out a commanding victory in 94 minutes.

They finished the match with 36 winners to their opponent’s 19.

This effort sees Ebden become the 16th Australian – and only the second in the past 20 years – to advance to a US Open men’s doubles final in the Open era.

This is Ebden’s third career Grand Slam men’s doubles final appearance, having previously contested championship matches at Australian Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2022 (both with Max Purcell).

It is the second major doubles final for 43-year-old Bopanna and his first since a runner-up finish at US Open 2010.

“We’ve given ourselves a good opportunity,” Ebden said about their chances of winning their first Grand Slam title as a team.

“We’ve made it through this far, there’s one more to go and we’ll do our best to win it.”

They’ll face No.3 seeds American Rajeev Ram and Brit Joe Salisbury for the title.

World No.5 Ram and world No.6 Salisbury are aiming to win their third consecutive US Open title – a feat yet to be achieved in the Open era.

Aussies in action – US Open

RESULTS
Men’s doubles, semifinals
[6] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) d Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 7-6(3) 6-2

COMING UP
Men’s doubles, final
[6] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v [3] Rajeev Ram (USA)/Joe Salisbury (GBR)

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